An age concern

A fund worth £700,000 has been launched by Arts Council Northern Ireland (ACNI) to better engage older people with the arts. The three-year programme (jointly funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and ACNI Arts & Older People Programme) will work by funding community-led projects in dance, painting, crafts, storytelling, music and song. Grants of up to £50,000 are now available to arts organisations, as well as community and voluntary groups, which increase opportunities for older people to enjoy and participate in artistic activity. Ken Logue, Programme Executive from Atlantic Philanthropies, believes that aside from the obvious benefits in health and well-being, the programme might help “[ensure] that our society becomes a place where older people are genuinely included and respected”.